An Employer Identification Number is issued by the IRS, and there is no public federal directory of every EIN, so most 'EIN lookup' sites are selling you a search that the government does not offer. What does exist, free and official, is on this page: the IRS route for your own EIN, SEC EDGAR for public filers, and the state registers that accept an EIN as a search key.
of registers with a fee verified from the official source
Your own EIN: the IRS issues it and the IRS is where you recover it. The IRS's own page says it plainly: 'Use this tool to get an EIN directly from the IRS in minutes for free. Answer questions and submit the application.' And on the sites that charge for this: 'Beware of websites that charge for an EIN. You never have to pay a fee for an EIN.' Both quotes are from irs.gov, checked on the date shown in the table above.
Another company's EIN: if the company files with the SEC, its EIN is printed on its public filings; EDGAR's company search is free. If it is private, there is no official public EIN directory; your options are the company's own paperwork (W-9, invoices, 1099s) or asking the company directly.
EIN as a search key: some state registers accept a federal EIN as a search input; the Maryland Business Express entity search, for example, offers 'Employer Identification Number (EIN)' as one of its search-by options, and the Texas Comptroller's taxable entity search takes 'the 9-digit Federal EIN'. Those two verified rows are in the table above with their official sources.
What this page will not do: sell you a reverse-EIN directory. Services that promise one are scraping filings or reselling credit data; where the official routes above cannot answer, we say so.
Questions people ask
Is there a free EIN lookup by company name?
For public companies, yes: SEC EDGAR's company search is free and filings carry the EIN. For private companies there is no official public EIN directory; the IRS does not publish one at any price.
How do I find my own EIN if I lost it?
Check the IRS confirmation letter from when the EIN was issued, prior tax returns, or bank paperwork from opening the business account; failing those, contact the IRS directly. The IRS never charges for an EIN, and its own page warns against websites that do.
Can I look up the last 4 digits of an EIN?
No official register offers partial-EIN search. Documents that show only the last four digits are masking the number on purpose; the full EIN comes from the company's own records or its public filings.
Is an EIN the same as a state registration number?
No. The EIN is federal, issued by the IRS for tax purposes. Each state register issues its own file number when an entity is formed or registered; the two numbers identify the same company in two different systems.
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The verified official certificate fee in the US official company registers was $39 in August 2026, across 2 verified register facts recorded in EntitySearch HQ State Register Index.
Cite as: "EntitySearch HQ State Register Index", updated 2026-08-28, https://entitysearchhq.com/registers/ein-lookup/.
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verified official certificate fee · the US official company registers · August 2026